Fawad Alam scored a brilliant 149 as Karachi Whites beat Islamabad by five wickets in final of the Regional One-Day Cup in Rawalpindi on Sunday.
The final was another high-scoring affair with Islamabad scoring 347-4 batting first. For the runners-up, Pakistan batting mainstay Babar Azam scored a fine 95-ball 105 while Shahid Yousuf remained unbeaten on 96.
In reply, the Karachi Whites were in trouble early on as they were reduced to 38-2 before a 96-run stand between Alam and Akbar-ur-Rehman (41) steadied the ship.
Alam kept going after the latter’s departure and put together a match-winning 192-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Danish Aziz (86*). In the process, he brought up his eighth List A ton before being dismissed for 149 off 130 deliveries with the Whites within touching distance of victory. Karachi won with three balls to spare.
Babar Azam scored 105 for Islamabad.
Alam was declared the player-of-the-match for his ton which included 18 boundaries.
The 32-year-old has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket but continues to be overlooked by national selectors. Alam last played a Test for Pakistan in 2009 with his most recent international appearance an ODI in 2015.
He currently has a first-class average of over 55 having scored 10,742 runs in 145 matches with 27 centuries and 57 fifties. Alam averages nearly 49 in List A cricket after 161 innings with Sunday’s 149 being his highest score ever.